Checkmate
by boggart21
Summary: After once again losing to Ron at chess, Harry decides that it is time to stop. He will not let this happen anymore. It's time to beat Ron at chess! One-shot, taking place during Third Year.


"Hey Harry! Want to play a game of chess?" Ron asked. Harry looked up from his homework.

"Of course! I'm totally gonna beat you this time," Harry exclaimed. He put away his homework while Ron went up to their dormitory to get his chess board. Hermione looked over at him from where she was completing her homework.

"Really Harry? Why are you putting off your homework for something so frivolous?"

"It's not frivolous," Harry said. "I like to play chess. Plus, I have a good feeling about this game. I think I can beat him for once! Anyway, I will get my homework done after the game. Don't worry!"

"Whatever you say Harry. Don't come crying to me when you haven't done your homework." Hermione scoffed. She packed up her homework into her bag, said "I am going to finish up stairs. Goodnight.", and went up to her dormitory. At the same time, Ron comes down the stairs with his chessboard, grinning.

"Ready Harry?" Ron asked.

"You're going down!" Harry exclaimed.

"Checkmate. That's how many now?" said Ron, grinning.

"Way too many, I think. I will get you next time," laughed Harry. "I think I'm gonna head up to bed now, it's been a long day." Harry packed up his bags, and went up to the dormitory.

As Harry went to change into his pajamas, Dean called over to him.

"Hey mate, why do you always play Ron at chess?" he said. Harry stopped, and looked over at him with a confused look on his face.

"Why not? I'm gonna beat him one of these days!" Harry said.

"Mate, nobody is gonna beat him. This is three years now that no one has been able to beat him. The rest of us have already given up. It's not gonna happen." With this, Dean got into bed and closed the curtains on his bed. Harry stared at him blankly, and then finished getting ready for bed while lost in thought. _Do they really think that nobody can beat Ron in chess?_ Harry thought while staring up at the ceiling. _Can I beat him? Maybe I can't…No, I know I can. It's just gonna take some effort_. Harry smirked at this thought. _No more games of chess with Ron for now. Next time, I'm going to win. Look out Ron, here I come!_ With that, Harry grabbed his wand and cast the alarm spell, ("Signumus 6:30," Harry said), turned over, and fell asleep.

* * *

After Harry woke up and did his morning routine, he went down to the Common Room to think. _I want to beat Ron at chess. So I need to get better. I know the rules by now, but I am pants at strategy. That's what I need. I need to get better at strategy. I wonder if the Library has books on chess strategy?_ "Tempus", Harry said. At eye level, his wand emitted smoke that formed into the time.

"6:45," Harry read. _Well, since I can't leave until 7, I might as well make a list of things I need to do._ Harry went back up to his form to get his school bag, making sure he had quills, ink, and parchment. Once he got back to the Common Room, he pulled out a quill and come parchment. _Well, I definitely need to see if the Library has any books on chess strategy. Hopefully some beginner ones and some advanced ones_, Harry thought while writing down. _I will definitely need to practice, so I will need to find some way to animate the chess pieces to play against me._ Harry again wrote this down, then stopped in thought. _All I need from there is to practice a lot._ He got a determined look on his face. _Let's do this._

"Tempus," Harry cast. The smoke formed into the time 7:03. With that, Harry packed up his bag and left the Common Room for the Library.

* * *

Harry walked into the Library and began to look for books on chess strategy. After an hour of searching, he began to wish that Hermione was there to help him. He wanted to do this on his own though, so he sucked up his Gryffindor courage and approached Madam Pince to ask for her help.

"Madam Pince, I am looking for books on chess strategy. Do you know where I could find them?" Harry asked.

"Have you checked the Index?" she asked without looking up.

"Uh, no. What is that?"

"What?" she asked startled. Madam Pince looked up at Harry. "Mr. Potter, you are a Third Year, and you don't know what the Index is?" Harry looked down sheepishly.

"No ma'am. I have not heard of it," Harry answered.

"Well, at least you are hearing this now. The Index is a self-updating book in the center of the Library that lists every book this library contains. All you do is name a subject, such as chess, and it will show you a list of titles that this library has on that subject. You do know that the books in this library are shelved alphabetically, right?" Madam Pince lectured.

"Yeah, I got that. Thanks!" Harry grinned, and then ran off to the center of the library.

"And no running in the Library!" Madam Pince shrieked. "Foolish boy."

Harry slowed down, and when he got to the center of the library, saw a pedestal in the center that had a giant book on it. He opened the book to the first page and it was blank. _Well, she did say that I would need to ask it for a subject_, Harry thought. So he said, "Chess," and looked down at the book. He was shocked. The whole page was filled with books. _There must be at least 50 books here_, Harry thought. Wanting to narrow it down, Harry said "Chess Strategy," and most of the books were gone leaving only 3 titles left. _Perfect!_ Harry rummaged through his bag and got out a quill and his list. Using the bottom of the parchment, he listed the three books: _A Beginners Guide to Chess Strategy_, _Advanced Strategy: Beat All Your Friends at Chess_, and _A Compendium of Chess Strategy_.

With that, Harry went and gathered each of the three books. He brought them to a table, sat down, and just as he was opening the first book, his stomach growled. Embarrassed, He looked around to see if anyone heard. Seeing that there was no one else around, he said, "Tempus." The smoke formed into the time 9:13. _No wonder! It's time for breakfast._ Harry gathered up the books and took them to Madame Pince to check out. As he was leaving the Library, Harry thought, _I am well on my way. Look out Ron, I am coming!_

* * *

After Breakfast, Harry was determined to read through the beginner's book. He found an abandoned classroom, and sat down in one of the chairs to read. Harry was halfway through the 2nd basic chess strategy when he stopped. _I am going to need to practice these as I go. Just reading about them will not help me. I need to find some way to animate chess pieces to play by themselves._ Harry packed the book back into his bag and walked out of the room. _I wonder who I can ask to help me with this. Have I seen anything similar to this?...Yeah, I have! Back in first year, Professor McGonagall had that chess set as one of the protections for the Stone. She should be able to help me!_

With that idea, Harry reached into his bag to search for the Marauder's he came up empty. _That's right, I never grabbed it this morning. _Harry hurried back to Gryffindor Tower. He stopped, out of breath, at the Fat Lady.

"Password," the Fat Lady said.

"Fortuna Major," Harry said. The Fat Lady swung open, and Harry climbed into the Common Room. On his way to his dormitory, Hermione spotted him.

"Harry! Where have you been? I haven't seen you all day!"

"Oh hey Hermione. Well, I stopped at the Library this morning, and now I am grabbing the Map."

"Why are you getting the Map? What are you up to Harry? Nothing nefarious, I hope," asked Hermione, worriedly.

"No, nothing like that. I am just fed up with losing to Ron at chess, so I checked out some books on chess strategy. I want to beat him. I need the map to find McGonagall so I can ask her to make a chess set that will play against me," said Harry.

"Well, good luck Harry! It's gonna be a hard road." Harry smiled in thanks, and went up the stairs. He rummaged around in his trunk, looking for the Map.

"Aha!" Harry exclaimed, pulling the Map out of the trunk. He opened it, ("I solemnly swear I am up to no good."), and looked for McGonagall. He found her in her office. With that, Harry closed the Map, ("Mischief managed."), put it in his bag, and walked out of the Tower.

* * *

When Harry arrived at McGonagall's office, Harry knocked on her door. Harry heard "Come in," and so he opened the door and walked in.

"Mr. Potter. Welcome. How may I help you?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"Well, I was hoping you could help me with a project I am working on."

"Of course. Come in and have a seat," McGonagall said. Harry walked over, and took a seat in one of McGonagall's chairs. She silently offered Harry a biscuit from the tin on her desk. Harry shook his head and said, "No thanks."

"Well then, what exactly is this project? If I am to help I need to know what you are working on," McGonagall stated.

"Well, Ron is very into chess, and he asks to play a lot. I like playing as well, so I usually say yes. But the thing is is Ron is so good that he crushes me every time. I want to really learn how to play, so I went to the Library to check out some books on chess strategy. It wasn't until I was part way through one of the books that I realized I would need to practice these strategies in order to actually be able to use them."

"And I assume that is where I come in," Said McGonagall with a smile.

"Well, yeah," said Harry, sheepishly. "I remembered the giant chess set you made a couple years ago, and was hoping you could make a regular sized set for me to practice with."

"I could very easily do that for you Mr. Potter. I like to see this initiative coming from you. Now if only you would apply this to your schoolwork, hmm?"

"Thank you!" Harry exclaimed. McGonagall pulled out her wand and turned to an empty space on her desk.

"First, I need to Conjure some material for this. I hope you are okay with just regular stone?" McGonagall asked. Harry nodded his head, fascinated. "Eludebas lapis," McGonagall cast. She pointed her wand at the empty space and stone started to materialize out of the air. The amount of stone grew in size. She held her wand there until she deemed she had enough.

"Now Mr. Potter, I am going to transfigure this stone into chessmen. Notice the wand movement that I do. The incantation is vertere and then what you want it to turn into. In this case, I will make each of the chessmen. Do not forget to picture clearly in your mind what you want them to look like, otherwise the spell will fail." With that, McGonagall cast the first spell, "Vertere Pawn Octies," and some of the stone broke off and turned into eight black pawns.

"Wow," breathed Harry. McGonagall then transfigured the rest of the chessmen.

"Now Mr. Potter, do you need a board as well?" McGonagall asked.

Harry shook his head and said, "No, I have one of my own. Thanks though."

McGonagall nodded. "Now, this next part is tricky. I will animate the pieces to not only be able to play chess, but for you to be able to modify the skill level. Give me a moment." McGonagall closed her eyes for a second, and then flicked her wand at the chessmen. They glowed brightly for a moment, and then settled back down.

"Okay, the chessmen will now play chess. There are three levels they can play at: beginner, intermediate, and advanced. To change the level, just tap the King and say Level 1 for beginner, Level 2 for intermediate, and Level 3 for advanced," McGonagall explained. Harry beamed at her.

"Thank you so much Professor! This is awesome!" Harry exclaimed.

"You're welcome Mr. Potter. Now, go practice," McGonagall said, smiling. Harry put all of the chessmen into his bag carefully, and then thanked McGonagall again, and walked out. He went back to the abandoned classroom he was in before, and opened his book. _Now, I can get in some practice. It's time to beat Ron…_

* * *

Harry spent the next 2 months practicing his chess skills every chance he got. When he wasn't doing homework, he was in his abandoned classroom practicing his burgeoning chess skills. It took him 1 week to be able to beat McGonagall's chessmen at Level 1 every time. It took him another 3 weeks to be able to beat them consistently at Level 2. Finally, after another month, Harry could beat the chessmen at Level 3 8 times out of 10. _ I am finally ready_, Harry thought to himself._ It's time to take on Ron_. With that, Harry left his dormitory and went into the Common Room. He found Ron and issued his challenge.

"Ron, I challenge you to a game of chess. This time, I am going to win!" Harry exclaimed.

"You sure about that?" Ron asked, smirking. "Well, if you are that eager to lose, bring it on!" Ron pulled out his chess set with his chessmen, and Harry pulled out his own chessmen.

"You want to be white?" Ron asked.

"Sure," Harry said, and tapped his chessmen and turned them white.

"Okay, let's get this started. D2 to D4," Harry said.

"D7 to D5," Ron countered.

"C2 to C4."

"Hmmm. Interesting," Ron muttered. "That's the Queen's Gambit." Ron looked up at Harry. "Maybe this will be interesting after all."

* * *

Ron and Harry were down to only a few pieces left each. They were surrounded by what felt like the entire Gryffindor House. The game had been hard fought. Harry held his own throughout the game, keeping Ron on his toes the entire time. Ron is lost in thought, trying to think of his next move. He finally says "G7 to F5."

Harry says "B5 to D7." He looks over to Ron, who has a shocked look on his face. He smirks, and says "Checkmate."

* * *

**AN: Thank you for reading this! Please Review! This is my first story here, so please give me any constructive criticism that you can. You can also tell me that you loved it, I don't mind that either.**


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